Pool "winterizing" versus closing

[cucamelsmd15]

Earlier this year my 15-16 year old pool pump let out the magic smoke, and as we all know once the magic smoke is released the magic smoke does not go back in...

Ergo, I had been eyeing a Circupool VS pump for a while and this was my opportunity to put it in. Thus far save for a few minor issues, its been fantastic.

That also being said, my winter cover has been in a declining state of health since we purchased the house in 2015 and I believe last year may have been its last year of faithful service. Lots of small holes starting to appear and brittle fabric make me wonder if it could make it through another year...

So here I am, contemplating what to do. All of my pool equipment (SWG, pump, filter, above ground piping) will be house in a pump house thats currently under construction. Insulation is a given there. But for "winterizing" a pool that will remain open, how does one go about doing this? What should I look out for? I dont believe the Circupool has built in freeze protection, in which case I would most likely schedule it to run 1000-1200 rpm during the evening through the morning. Our climate is fairly temperate in central NC with only a few nights of truly cold, below freezing temperatures.

Thoughts?

 

[Texas Splash]

But for "winterizing" a pool that will remain open, how does one go about doing this? What should I look out for?

Same situation here. There's not much to change really. You'll probably not use the SWG once the water temp gets below 65 or so, so that's easy. Very low liquid chlorine demand. The pump doesn't need to run much either except for adding chemicals or if you run a vacuum. The biggest thing are those occasional deep freeze nights/mornings. It's best to keep water moving in the pipes - low rpms will work fine. Since you will have a pump house, you've reduced the likelihood of damage to equipment, but if you are concerned about that you can leave a light on in the pump house to keep the bitter cold at bay. A long power outage can be tricky, so think ahead for that one. Again, the pump house items should be okay, but the skimmer area might need pieces of a pool noodle to cover water expansion "IF" the power outage was for such a long period that freezing could occur. Unlikely, but just a thought. Otherwise, winter pool management is quite easy for us.

 

[Homebrewale]

I'm in central NC. Some people run their pools through the winter and some people close their pools. I close my pool for several reasons. One is that I want my safety cover on the pool before the leaves start falling. Otherwise, my pool would be full of leaves for weeks. Also I don't want to take the chance that an ice storm would hit knocking out power which then leaves me without the ability to keep water circulating. I just have far less concerns with closing the pool.